


Late-night Coffee

by theartofdreaming



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2016-04-26
Packaged: 2018-06-04 18:04:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6668818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theartofdreaming/pseuds/theartofdreaming
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just a little Westallen one-shot based on the following prompt: “I have a paper due tomorrow and it’s three am, I need all your coffee cause I ran out” college au<br/>Barry's night gets disrupted by a certain caffeine addict...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Late-night Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, I finally got myself an ao3-account! For now, I'll upload my (revised) stories from my ff.net-account and my tumblr while I'm wrestling with a bad case of writer's block but I hope that I'll be able to post some brand-new stories here as well :)  
> English is not my first language, so I'm sorry if there are any mistakes (feel free to point them out to me, so I can correct them :)

_**Knock knock**_ Barry cast an unbelieving look at his front door, tooth brush still in mouth. Who on earth would still knock at 3 a.m.?! He certainly must have imagined it. _**Knock knock knock**_ or not. He scuffled towards the door, the knocking intensifying. Barry warily opened the door, half expecting someone to throw a cake into his face or something like that, after all, it wouldn't be the first time some of his fellow students came up with the idea to prank him... And stared at the most gorgeous girl he'd ever seen.

“Hi, I need your coffee.” She declared matter-of-factly, impatiently rocking on the balls of her feet.

“Huh?” Was the most intelligible sound Barry could produce, utter confusion displayed on his face.

“Look,” she sighed heavily, “I have this paper due tomorrow and I really, really need to finish it or I'm in huge trouble.... But, to finish it, I really, really, REALLY need some coffee – and I drank all of mine so... – Could you lend me some? And with some, I mean all of it – or at least everything you can spare... I really need it.” She gave him the most adorable puppy dog pout he'd ever seen (but was it just the dim lighting or were her pupils a bit very much dilated?). Anyway, he couldn't turn her down (also, she seemed quite desperate and determined and he certainly wouldn't be the one to put himself between a woman and apparent life-saving coffee), so he stepped aside and motioned for her to enter. She zipped right past him towards the tiny kitchenette, an eager look on her face.

Barry dumbfoundedly realized that he still had the toothbrush (and -paste) in his mouth and headed for the sink to spit out the toothpaste and rinse his mouth. His nightly guest stood there with folded arms, eyes fixated on his cupboard as if she could summon the tin of coffee by a simple stare. Considering the intensity of her glance, Barry wasn't too sure that she couldn't.

“Ehm, so,” he stuttered nervously, rubbing his neck with his free hand, while opening the cupboard with the other, “you are Iris, right? From the other end of the corridor?”

She finally tore her gaze off the cupboard and blinked several times like awakening from some kind of stupor. “Oh, yeah... I, I didn't introduce myself, did I?” She blushed a little, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, “Sorry for that. I just don't function very well without my caffeine and when no one down the hallway had opened their door – wait, did I just knock at everyone's door in the middle of the night? – whatever, I was very desperate. It's an important paper,” she added sheepishly, a small smile making its way unto her face.

“I can understand that. I'm known for being perpetually late,” Barry grinned, handing over his coffee can to Iris.

“Yeah, I know,” she laughed, clutching the can like it was a lifesaver. Barry couldn't help but blush a little.

“Ehm... you can have all of it – I'm just gonna grab some coffee from Jitters tomorrow instead.” Iris gave him a wide-eyed look, like he just sacrificed a leg for her. He felt a warm and fuzzy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

“But please promise me to drink a lot of water with that. We wouldn't want you to dehydrate from over-caffeination, okay?” He urged, genuinely caring.

Iris nodded vigoriously, then, suddenly, wrapped her arms around his middle in a quick, but nearly bone-breaking hug and – with a muttered “thanks, I owe you one” – hurriedly left Barry's place.

Barry still stood in the kitchen, completely flabbergasted.

* * *

The next day, around 4 p.m., just shortly after he had returned from his biochemistry lecture, Barry heard it again – **_knock knock_**. This time, the knocking was more tentative than last night. Barry opened the door and once again, Iris stood there, smiling up at him. She appeared much calmer than yesterday (and even more beautiful – however this was possible), hands behind her back.

“Hi,“ she said bashfully, chewing on her lower lip.

„Hey.“

„Sooo... Ehm... I wanted to apologize for the stunt I pulled last night – I mean, it wasn't really me, that was more like a zombie-version of me...“ she let out a nervous laugh. “But I wanted to thank you for the coffee – I never would have finished my paper without it. And,” she produced a brand-new coffee can from behind her back, “I've brought you something to refill your coffee stock.”

Barry accepted her gift with a wide smile, “you really didn't have to-”

“Yes, I had to,” Iris insisted. “Without you, I wouldn't have had enough java to last until my deadline, suffer through another lecture and finally enjoy the utter bliss that is six-hours of sleep... - I just woke up from coffee-coma,” Iris explained when she saw his confusion.

“Zombie-Iris wasn't that bad, don't worry,” Barry reassured her, grinning.

“Okay, good.” She beamed at him, relieved. For a minute, they just stood there, smiling at each other. Then, Iris eyed Barry with an unreadable expression on her face. “Actually... I was just on my way to Jitters for one cup of coffee and something to eat,” she said carefully, “and I was wondering if you... would like to join me? – Only if you want to,” she added hastily, after seeing Barry's eyes widen in surprise.

“Oh no – I mean, yes, yeah, I would like that,” he babbled excitedly, blushing.

Iris gave him another of her breathtaking smiles: “Great.”

“Let me just - “ Barry gestured to the coffee can still in his hand, hurrying inside to put it down and grab his jacket. “Alright, let's go,” he spluttered enthusiastically, grinning from ear to ear. Iris couldn't help but giggle at his overeagerness. They were walking comfortably alongside one another, when Barry uttered: “Did you know that zombies exist in nature?”

**Fin.**


End file.
